8-22-07 // Previewed: Formula’s The One

Formula was on hand at the Scott Gambler launch last week in Chatel, France, to support its new downhill/freeride brake it has modestly dubbed, “THE ONE.”

Select Scott Gambler models will come spec’d with the brake, and after two days of running the lifts on a new Gambler equipped with the brakes—in the greasiest of greasy conditions—first impressions were quite good.

Formula has been around for a while and in the last few years has done well with its Oro brake, which is distributed widely in Europe and is building momentum stateside.

The new brake’s lever sports all the same easy adjustments as the Oro, which are a hand-dial reach adjustment and pad contact adjustment, both of which are easy to dial in on the fly. The levers have some extra bonus features, too.

The lever has built-in play, and gets a few millimeters of spring-loaded travel should it get snagged in a crash. There also are detents midway along the lever blade, which means the lever blade, during the right crash, will break in half rather than all the way off, saving the lever body and pivot and leaving enough of a nub to let you one-finger-brake your way back down the hill. And with THE ONE, one finger is really all you need—the power really is quite impressive.

Formula will also field a lower-tier downhill brake called the Mega, which has a two-piece caliper in lieu of THE ONE’s one-piece forged job. Both brakes use the same large diameter 24-millimeter piston.

First impression of the brake: This sucker is strong. Look for it to hit the market late this year.